Central Alberta Youth Unlimited is now accepting nominations for the 2019 Leaders of Tomorrow Awards, which will be in Lacombe on April 11th

“It is a program that celebrates youth who volunteer in Lacombe and the district around it,” Dee Clark, youth engagement at Youth Unlimited, said. “First off, we need people to nominate youth who have went above and beyond with their volunteering and even just being kind to others.”

Anyone between the ages of six to 21 can be nominated and a winner will be selected later in March.

“After we get nominations, we have a scoring committee look at all of them and they choose one person in each of the four categories,” Clark said. “One person wins and they get the most prizes, but everyone nominated gets prizes, certificates and usually someone from the City will also give them a certificate.”

Nova Chemicals is the partnering sponsor on this project, which allows Youth Unlimited to have and Awards Night that really celebrates youth in the community.

“On April 11 we will have a big celebration to find out who won and it is a great way to celebrate them. This year we are hoping to have an event that is really fun for youth,” she said

Lacombe FCSS was the original founder of the awards before Youth Unlimited took over and Clark said they help show how youth really do make a difference.

It also inspires people. It inspires younger people and it inspires the older generations — they get to see how youth are making a difference,” she said.

Clark said they usually receive around 15 to 20 nominations, but they are willing to accept as many as possible to help ensure youth in the community are recognized.

“We have had all sorts of different people who have been nominated, from volunteering at the vet to volunteering at churches and even helping out kids at school who maybe feel uncomfortable or aren’t sure where they belong,” she said.

“We have also had people who have travelled overseas to volunteer before. There is also a lot of kids who volunteer at school and also participate in 4-H Clubs.”

We are willing to take on as many nominations as we can get. We want youth to be recognized for the awesome things they do,” Clark said.

If you would like a nomination form, you can email info@cayu.ca, dial 403 789 CAYO or pick one up at 5025 – 50th Street.